Rowlett Tornado

Today's post is a bit of a somber one. 2 days ago, December 26, my hometown of Rowlett, TX was hit with a tornado that destroyed (as of now) 148 homes completely and left over 854 homes with some kind of damage. Thankfully, my families houses and neighborhoods were not hit and remain completely undamaged, but there are a lot of families who have lost everything and have been displaced. 

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays, everyone! Last week I made some dyed eggs and I've been dye-ing to post the pics! I already think my deviled eggs are the most delicious eggs I've ever had (not that I'm bias or anything), but dying them made them super cute!

Happy Kwanzaa!

I know it's early, but Happy Kwanzaa! This week in class we're talking about Kwanzaa! And to go along with our Kwanzaa unit, I whipped up some kinara and candle clip art that I'm putting up as a freebie in my TpT store!

Happy Hanukkah!

It's almost Hanukkah! Each year when we come back from Thanksgiving break, we spend a week talking about Hanukkah, a week talking about Kwanzaa, and our last week before break talking about Christmas. I like for the kid to learn about some of the other winter holidays people celebrate.

Currently December

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!! December already!?! It seems like this year has shot by so fast! I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for this month's Currently Link Up! These are addicting! The good kind ... like coffee ice cream. :)

Pumpkin Pie in a Bag

The week of Thanksgiving is alwasy one of the longest weeks ... even though it's only 2 days long! We spend a lot of time finishing work, playing in centers, playing games and doing little Thanksgiving crafts. The day before Thanksgiving break, about half of our grade level has a Thanksgiving dinner in their classroom. Since I know it's that time of year when money gets tight, we skip the classroom dinner. This year, however, I decided to make pumpkin pie in a bag after seeing it on a couple different blogs. It went over so well with the kiddos!

Homemade Applesauce!

This week in class we are talking about Hanukkah, which starts Sunday. Every year we make latkes in class as we talk about this 8 day long holiday. And every year, I give the kids store bought applesauce to go with our latkes. Well, THIS year, since we have so many apples on our share table that can't leave the building, I decided we should make homemade applesauce! We gathered our apples and the kids help me wash, core and cut the apples before we put them into our crock pot to cook.

Ingredients:

16 apples

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Devilicious Eggs

One of the dishes I'm responsible for during the holidays is deviled eggs. I usually make a dozen and a half and that never seems to be enough! The good thing about deviled eggs is they don't take too long and they aren't hard to do. Here's my recipe for my Devilicious Eggs!

Reading and Writing Centers

Math is yellow, science is green, social studies is red ... can you guess what reading and writing's signature color is in our classroom? That's right ... BLUE! In an attempt to make sure the reading and writing centers and materials are "relaxing and calm", reading and writing is always blue. (Except for the vocab wall, which is purple, but that's close to blue, right?)

This is our lovely blue reading and writing center shelf. Or literacy center as most people call it. Just like with our science shelf, that big empty spot on the third shelf is for that unit's materials, so it changes pretty frequently. This tall shelf backs up to our library center and gives the kids some sound buffer while they enjoy their books.

Our Science Shelf

Like I've said before, I am an anal, OCD person and everything in my room is color coded, and in their places, and on the shelf they are supposed to be on. Before the kids come in the room. :)

Here is what our science shelf looks like. It's this HUGE shelf that's split down the middle and is used for half math, half science. A couple years ago I took some green paper and glued it to the back of the shelf (since I was too scared to paint it) so that it would match all of the science things in the room. Science. Is. Green.

Not sometimes. Not whenever I feel like it. ALWAYS!

Our Math Shelf

I am an anal, OCD person ... which doesn't work out well for my kiddos sometimes! I like things color coded, and in their places, and on the shelf they are supposed to be on. Then I remember, I teach kindergarten and sometimes, something's gotta give!

Here is what our math shelf looks like. It's this HUGE shelf that's split down the middle and is used for half math, half science. A couple years ago I took some yellow paper and glued it to the back of the shelf (since I was too scared to paint it) so that it would match all of the math things in the room. Math. Is. Yellow.

Not sometimes. Not whenever I feel like it. ALWAYS!

Go Noodle

We started GoNoodle today in class and the kids LOVED it! During stations/centers I try to keep classical music playing in the back ground (and on fun days we listen to words with clean lyrics ... a lot of oldies). Today whenever we had about 5 minutes or so between transitions and not enough time to start something new, we GoNoodled. That can be a verb, right?

Currently November

As an October baby, November came WAY too fast. I've linked up once before and enjoyed it, so I'm doing it again, this time with Oh Boy Fourth Grade.

Class Dojo

I have recently entered the world of Class Dojo and I must say, I'm loving it! I'm not using it where parents can see how their child is doing, but more as a behavior tool for in the classroom. Each morning, we set a goal as a class for what we want our positive percentage to be by the end of the day. We usually aim for 75 - 80% as a class.

Pocket Chart Stands!

Ok, a few weeks ago I posted about Mini Anchor Chart Stands and said I would update later. It's FINALLY later so here's my update! I painted most of the PVC pipe and put together larger {but still mini} pocket chart stands. 

Back to School: Teacher Survival!

We officially started back to school today! As a little back to school gift for my grade level I made everyone teacher survival kits. We have a lot of school supplies as it is, but I wanted to get them a couple special things for the upcoming year.

French Toast Casserole

Today was the first day back for the new staff in our district. One of the things our district's Texas Classroom Teachers Association does is make breakfast for the new staff on their first day back. I'm not gonna lie, it's one of my favorite days because there are sooooooo many good dishes that line the table! For the past 3 years I have made french toast casserole. This year I changed the recipe I use and I think I'm going to stick with it! I cook my eyeballing it, so bear with me on some of the measurements. Playing around with ingredients is one of my favorite things as far as cooking is concerned! :)

This is the recipe for french toast casserole, but I use pretty close to the same egg mixture when I make regular french toast.

Crepe Paper Curtains

Last night and this afternoon I spend some of my time sectioning off my library center even more so than it already is. The huge tree that is in the corner of my library already makes it cozy, but I wanted it a little more cozy inside. So, I made crepe paper curtains! After trying to put them under the ceiling tiles one by one like I've done with vines in the past, it occurred to me to just make a long piece of tape with crepe paper attached. Duh!

Doggy "Gate"

As some of you know, I am a proud mama to one of the most adorable furry children ever!

Indoor Bench DIY

Since I'm usually making things for my TpT store and trying to come up with cool station ideas for my class during the school year, I do most of my DIY projects I find during the year in the summer. The year, I tackled making a bench, redecorating John's room (yes, my dog has his own room), making a fabric doggie gate and making makeup brush holders. My favourite DIY of the summer was definitely my new indoor bench.

Dry Erase Center

Let me just start off by saying ... Easiest. Center. Ever! I don't know about your classroom, but in mine, I have a specific section for everything. Dry erase materials are no exception. Last year I had a space for dry erase math materials and dry erase reading & writing materials and dry erase science materials. It was too much! I loved each being with it's content area, but things were never put back where they were supposed to be.

This year, I'm using a plain old dish drying rack as a dry erase center. I got my dish rack at Dollar General for $7.50.

Assess Me Linky: Week 2 This or That

I figured I was too far behind for last week, so this week I am linking up with The Tattooed Teacher for week 2 of getting to know me with Assess Me Linky!

Under the Sink Curtains

Living in a small space, I've learned to use every little nook and cranny that I possibly can. The classroom is no different. When I feel like I'm losing cabinet or closet space, I have to look for other places to store things. That doesn't mean I want my room to look even more cluttered than it already does. What better way to hide my under the sink storage with some curtains! 

Pool Noodle DIY

One of my "projects" this summer for my classroom was making pool noodle letters for ELA and numbers for Math. I like my kiddos to be up and moving as much as possible, so this will be a way for them to move around the table, stand, or sit on the floor while they are working in Math stations or playing games.

Mini Chart Stands!

Arguing over my teacher example happens every single time! Someone needs to see it up close, or isn't able to tell what to do when it's upside down, they just want it closer to them. Whatever the reason, it happens constantly! To help with the issue, I whipped up some mini chart stands.

August Target Finds!

1. Foam Clocks

These foam clocks were in Target's $1 and $3 Spot and were only $1 each! They are double-sided. One side has a regular faced clock while the other side has the markings to show what each number stands for in terms of minutes. I am going to put them both on my calendar wall so the kids can see each version.

Back to School!

We have a little under a month before school starts back up! I can feel the nerdy teacher side of me getting excited every time I walk into a Walmart, Target, Big Lots or Dollar Tree. I have to buy something for my classroom! Below is a list comparing Walmart and Target school supply prices and the list of school supplies for our class this year. (Although I get most of my school supplies at Dollar Tree or Big Lots, with the exception of Crayola markers & crayons and Elmer's glue).

Here is a list comparing school supplies at Walmart and Target that I found handy! I found it at Passionate Penny Pincher. She has coupons, store (and restaurant) deals and  ads that are updated pretty frequently. I LOVE it!

July Big Lots Finds

1. Food Containers

July Target Finds!

1. Garment Rack

I haven't had a pocket chart stand the past few year, so instead of having my school order one for me, I bought a garment rack to use instead! It's pretty much the same thing and costs a lot less. I paid $15 for this one and it works just fine!

July Dollar Tree Finds!

This summer seemed to go by so fast! I think it goes quicker every year. While I was in Rowlett this summer visiting my family, I frequented The Dollar Tree, Big Lots, Target and plenty of other blogs. I found so many cute things for my classroom that I just had to share them!